National Devt Plan: Buhari targets 21m jobs, lifting at least 35m out of poverty in five years

President Muhammadu Buhari said on Wednesday in Abuja that the Nigerian government required an investment size of N348.1 trillion to achieve the ambitious targets set out in the National Development Plan 2021-2025.

The overall target of the Plan is to achieve a broad-based real GDP growth rate of 5 per cent on average during the Plan period; generate 21 million full-time jobs; and through an inclusive growth, lift at least 35 million people out of poverty in five years.

The President was quoted to have at the formal launch and public presentation of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2025 that the plan was the successor to the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), 2017- 2020, which lapsed in December 2020.

Buhari added that this would set the stage for achieving the government’s target of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years, under the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS).

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To achieve these, the President noted that out of the investment size of N348.1 trillion, the Government was expected to provide N49.7 trillion or 14.3%, while the private sector would provide the balance of N298.3 trillion or 85.7%.

“This implies that successful implementation of the Plan will require a strong partnership between the public and private sectors.

“In this regard, a Development Plan Implementation Unit headed by the Vice President with the Honourable Minister of State, Budget and National Planning as the Vice-Chair will be established in the Budget and National Planning arm of the Ministry to ensure overall coordination with the Ministries, Departments and Agencies; sub-national governments; Private sector operators and Civil Society Organizations,” a statement by Presidential spokesperson quoted Buhari to have said.

The President reportedly recounted that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had on November 10, 2021, approved the Draft National Development Plan, 2021-2025, which is the first of the envisaged Medium Term development Plans to implement the Nigeria Agenda 2050.

“The Plan, as a matter of deliberate efforts, is comprehensive and has the capacity not only to accelerate and sustain national development but also the attainment of various Regional and Global Agendas, including the AU Agenda 2063, ECOWAS Agenda 2050 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, 2030.

“I have no doubt in my mind that with effective and sustained implementation, Nigeria will achieve quantum leap in unlocking its potentials in all sectors of the economy for a sustainable and inclusive national development.”

According to the President, the broad objectives of the Plan included the establishing a strong foundation for a concentric diversified economy with robust MSME growth and a more resilient business environment as well as investing in critical, physical, financial digital and innovation infrastructure.

The President added that the Plan was also expected to build a solid framework to strengthen security and ensure good governance while also enabling a vibrant, educated and healthy population.

“The macroeconomic framework recognizes that sectors have differing potentials for growth and identified and leveraged on those sectors with the highest potentials for stimulating growth,” he explained.